Saturn out of business.

[Blue]

I'm starting this thread to keep another thread on track and because it affects me personally.

Saturn, in my opinion a great car, will pretty much be shut down because of the failure of the Penske deal.

I'm not sure I understand why though. There must be other places where GM could cut costs. I always thought Saturn was one of the more profitable divisions.

Either way, I'm curious how GM will support Saturn owners.

I have an ION2 Quad on lease. I am wondering if GM will continue to carry parts etc. for this model. Not all parts are interchangable with other GM vehicles.
If they do I would buy out the remaining contract because I really lilke the car. If not I guess I will just return it.

I'm also wondering if GM is open to negotiation.
Has anyone heard of someone renegotiating their buy out terms since the eminent demise of Saturn?

 

[Artashes]

Michael, I haven't heard of anyone renegotiating their buy out terms, but I am pretty sure you will be advised by mail of your options.

I've heard Saturn is not the only manufacturer that will be closed. Saab might see the same fate in the near future.

For your Saturn-specific questions, perhaps you may want to reach out to other owners of same car make. There is a bunch of Saturn forums out there:
http://www.saturnforum.com/forum/
http://www.saturnspot.com/
http://www.redlineforums.com/

 

[CrazyTech]

I was admittedly shocked about the Saturn announcement. I feel that Saturn was a brand that was really beginning to look sharp and you see a good bit of the cars on the road.

In the stories I read, I believe that they'll continue to support Saturn cars, you'll just go to a GM shop. There are two sides to this coin. On one hand, they'll have to continue to make the parts (and will because it's profitable and different to produce a part as opposed to a car). On the other hand, parts may not be produced at the same levels, and therefore may be harder to find.

I'd definitely talk to the dealer/GM and see what you need to do.

 

[handsonhosting]

Saturn was a breakthrough for many years. They offered solid cars, great gas milage and reasonable (if not considered cheap) prices compared to other cars.

Saab going out would be a shame too - the engineers at Saab build amazing cars over the years, and once GM took over back in the 90's the look and feel of the cars changed too. Some of the safety features developed on Saab were later included into other vechicles, and for performance, they were giants - along the same lines of Audi - but they set the standard on many levels.

I guess we'll wait and see what happens in January for Saturn - such a shame.

 

[SenseiSteve]

I wrote a report about Saturn back in 1990 and it was highly favorable. Never owned a Saturn, but those I did rent, I never liked. The layout of the dash just turned me off. Never really heard much bad about Saturn and always considered them a stable brand. I wish you luck, Blue.

 

[Blue]

Actually the layout of the panel was a big selling point for me with the Ion2.
The instrument panel is offset so the steering wheel is not in the line of site.
Takes a bit of getting used to in the beginning but I like it a lot.
That and the jumper doors in the back. It looks like a 4 door but acts like a 4 door.

Is there and value in antique cars anymore?

This car is in mint condition and there were only 2 release years for this model as far as I know.

Maybe I should just get a new driving car and store this one for 30 years.